Bloody cheek. Five hours later, after being threatened with several charges, I was able to view the damage to the CBR. Dented tank, cracked plastic and ripped seat. Whichever way I squinted at it there was serious expense involved that my TPF&T insurance certainly didn't cover - I liked the Honda too much to drop a match in the petrol tank.
At least it still ran (after I extracted the screwdriver from the ignition lock) so I could take my time finding the bits at the right price. The Honda’s such an integrated machine that there was no way it would tolerate aftermarket accessories and so well put together that it really doesn’t need them.
The Honda is nothing if not versatile, my despondent mood soon uplifted by the searing acceleration from the 100hp motor and dexterous handling from the 430Ibs chassis. Although it’s fast and furious, the CBR is also comfortable and competent, so any ride extracts the very best of all worlds, which probably explains why it’s such a good seller. All its abilities were called for when the front brake suddenly faded away to nothing. An almighty wrench on the bars whilst a few millimetres of rear rubber was burnt off from the locked up wheel saved me from crashing into the side of an Escort. The vandals had cut through the brake hose, leaving me on a potential suicide ride - I mean, what's the matter with these people?
I rode home very slowly, worried that maybe the wheels would fall out or something in fact I found that they had also slashed away at the tyres but failed to break through the inner surface [Seriously, death by fire is too good for scum like these - 2021 Ed]. Luckily, they were OE rubber and due for replacement.
It took almost six months before I'd tracked down and replaced all the damaged parts, although I did 12000 miles in that time so it didn’t stop me riding the bike. Nothing could, any excuse or on the slightest pretext I was in the saddle and away. Whilst some might object to the need to fly through the gears to really tear along, although it would run and accelerate mildly in the taller gears, I see nothing wrong with such work-outs, figuring them to be all part of the fun of motorcycling and that apart could find sod all wrong with the dynamics of riding the Honda!
Handling, acceleration, comfort, cruising ability, range, etc, were all way beyond my ability to criticize... OK, my previous bike was a 50000 mile CBX550 (which in its day was a market leader, engine horrors aside) so the contrast between old and new was all the more startling but in the real world, rather than the race track, it’s unlikely that most riders will find anything to complain about the Honda (or some of its rivals).
I'm certainly not used to its 150mph top speed, nor the way the motor spins into red with such force once into its power band. The handling’s so competent, and the riding position so natural, that | was able to sling a leg over the bike and feel perfectly at ease within mere moments. Below 7000 revs the engine runs cleanly, smoothly, but without much violence, which is fine for getting to know the machine and mild commuting chores (when it'd give about 50mpg), but once a taste of the acceleration derived from use of the higher revs has been had it’s very difficult to be content with more moderate riding.
Weather protection isn’t up there with Gold Wings, my hands becoming very cold and wet, and the screen’s too low to be much use apart from when taking up a racing stance, but the wind blast is nicely curtailed at 90 to 120mph, where the bike can be cruised for as long as the fuel (about 35mpg) or your driving licence lasts. If Honda had combined narrower bars with a touch wider plastic and more radical cut-outs for my knees then it'd been much more protective without being any heftier. It’s a lot better than a naked bike and I couldn’t now go back to something like a CBX550.
In the same way, I don’t see that there’s anything I could change the CBR for - I don’t want any more speed, certainly couldn't take some grand tourer after the svelte Honda and there ain't much around that can roll through the bends and cruise comfortably anywhere near as well.
Of course, my view of the CBR600 as a piece of rolling perfection irritates the hell out of my friends and made them ride their own machines like lunatics to put me in my proper place. It doesn’t work, though. The FZR600 rider was out for the count after a 100 miles of cruising that barely scratched the Honda’s abilities; something to do with his seat turning knife sharp and his wrists seizing up.
Another friend's 600 Katana was thrown off the road when he had the audacity to try to follow my line down a bumpy country lane (the CBR's rear shock can become a little overheated but the chassis holds it in line). He survived long enough to trade in for a ZX-6 which gave the Honda the hardest time, but even that could be burnt down a series of intricate curves that I blasted through at ten-tenths.
I'd become so at one with the CBR that I could take the Bridgestone Battlax tyres right up to the point where they started to slide, though the back would occasionally move violently six inches or so before regaining some grip - the first time it happened was so unexpected that I thought I was going to die.
First impressions of the ride were that it was a bit remote but jacking up the preload and damping settings at both ends gave the bike a more sporting edge and that essential element of feedback without completely ruining the comfort. The engine’s so smooth at lower revs as to be similarly remote but I prefer to think of it as electric smooth, a reflection of such good build quality that valve checks are only necessary every 16000 miles - which probably means they won't be done until they burn out or rattle so much that it sounds like a shot camchain (the older engines did 35000 miles plus before the camchain needed any attention, which bodes well for the F2).
There is a hint of vibration if the engine is thrashed into the red, amplified if the carbs aren’t balanced every 5000 miles. Similarly, the gearbox goes to pot if the oil isn’t changed at 3000 miles or the O-ring chain, which lasted for 14000 miles, isn’t kept in perfect adjustment. I do all my own maintenance, the major chore being to take off and replace the plastic without damaging it.
Poor starting and misfiring at 11000 miles was easily traced to a couple of spark plugs on the way out. They are rather inaccessible and quite easy to mis-thread if you don’t take a lot of care and bit of time. Complete failure to respond to the button was traced to a blown fuse, which went for no apparent reason but left me worried as the electrics seem a bit minimal with a small battery and some stories of earlier bikes blowing the incredibly expensive digital ignition module. I’ve survived so far without that kind of expense.
With 17000 miles on the clock | have detected a little bit less tautness from the suspension, a slight amount of roughness in the six speed gearbox and some fading of the finish on the wheels, exhaust and forks. Judging by the way the front brake has started squealing (on its second set of pads) I’m about to enjoy my first caliper seizure! Were I a rich yuppie it might well be time to trade in for the latest model but as I’m not I'm going to buy a race exhaust and jet kit instead.
The most obvious thing about the Honda is its integrated styling, which is still different enough to set it apart from the masses. If you like the looks then the rest of the bike will blow your mind away, especially if like me you’re coming from an old fashioned middleweight. Progress there is aplenty but | think it will take them another ten years to come up with something so much better that I will want to trade in the Honda!
James McKinney